emma bull – Cannonball Read 17

How does one describe this book?

Freedom & Necessity by Steven Brust & Emma Bull

April 25, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

I’m having the hardest time writing this review, but I just need to suck it up and word vomit out something, because I read this back in March. The problem is, I have no idea how to describe this strange, strange book. And also, not sure how I feel about it? Like, I enjoyed it? I gave it four stars (well, 3.5)? But I also still find it confounding. By the way, Steven Brust and Emma Bull teaming up to write this somehow led me […]

If Tumblr had existed when this was published…

March 17, 2018 by llp 2 Comments

It would have been CRAZY. It is made for fanfic and fan art and OTPing. I am a little in love with this book that I was so fortunate to receive in the book exchange from JS. The War for the Oaks is one of the first urban fantasies published in 1987; it is set in Minneapolis in the 80s, centring on a musician named Eddi who finds herself getting out of both a bad relationship and a bad band, and falling into the middle […]

A novel of the Borderlands

December 23, 2017 by Sophia Leave a Comment

I love those classic novels that stick with you for years, that may even change your perspective on life–especially if you read them when you’re younger. I saw that Finder (1994) by Emma Bull was recommended as unforgettable, and I thought it might just be one of those books. Finder is a novel of the Borderlands. Bull has set up her story where there is the world we know as well as an Elvish land full of magic and fairies. Inbetween these two places is the Borderland, a […]

Welcome to the 80s

March 14, 2016 by Ale 6 Comments

If I was writing this review back when I’d read this book the first time, I would have given it a firm 5 stars and been proselytizing it all over the place. It was the first urban fantasy I’d ever encountered, and the story really got me as a college aged writing major. With that being said, I did a close-read on it for my MFA, and d*mn those close readings for ruining a book I have such fond memories of! This is not to […]

“I’m a bullet that thinks for itself, and I want to know what I’m being shot at.”

July 14, 2014 by alwaysanswerb Leave a Comment

War for the Oaks is widely considered to be the establishing foundation of the urban fantasy genre. Setting a war between the Seelie and Unseelie (or, Light and Dark) Courts of the Fae in modern-day Minneapolis (or, at least, modern in 1987, when this was written,) Emma Bull established a paradigm. One: in contemporary times, in recognizable places, there are intersecting magical realms and accompanying magical beings that are invisible to most humans. Two: certain humans have an aptitude for magic, even if they haven’t […]

Rock & Roll, the Fae, and one of the foundation texts of the Urban Fantasy genre.

March 6, 2014 by narfna 1 Comment

Almost immediately upon starting War for the Oaks, I had an overwhelming feeling that reading this book was like finding a story that had just been waiting for me to discover it. And this book was written in 1987, the year my little sister was born, so it’s been waiting quite a while. I wish I had discovered it earlier. It was by no means a perfect read, but it was so absorbing and comforting and fun that I almost had no choice but to […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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